𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒𝟐

Since Ava is temporarily living in the castle and Marco visits often due to the marriage, I've been exhausted. Both of them are hard to deal with, and even if Ava is my friend, she's been acting strange lately—in a way that makes me not trust her.

Maybe I'm being dramatic, though.

I walk beside Alex as he leads me to the throne room, where my father is currently waiting. Today, I'm supposed to go on a royal tour with Marco as preparation to take over the throne, but it's more for the prince and less for me.

When I arrive in the throne room, I notice Marco with his hands behind his back. He's standing next to my parents in a navy blue suit that makes him stand out—in a bad way. His dark hair is messy, and the slight curls have a wild look to them, as if nobody has ever tried—or bothered—to tame them.

My hand instinctively grabs ahold of Alex's to calm myself down, but the bodyguard shakes it off immediately with the silent reminder that we're being watched.

I sigh and decide to just try to keep my distance from Marco, but he moves to stand in front of me, a fake smile on his face. "I hope you're not dreading spending time with me, mi amore," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

My heart races with anger, and I wish I could punch his smug face. "I would rather spend time with the rats in the castle than you," I snap back, giving him a death glare.

"Is that so?" Marco asks with a wry smile. "I suppose I should be flattered."

"Enough!" my father interrupts before I can respond, his voice loud enough to echo through the rafters. "We're here to prepare for the tour, not bicker like children."

I take a deep breath to calm myself down, but my mind is still racing with emotions. "Fine," I mutter through gritted teeth. "Let's get this over with."

As we leave the throne room, Alex falls into step beside me, his expression equally grim. "You don't have to go through with this if you don't want to, Princess," he whispers, his voice low enough that only I can hear him.

What does he mean by that?

"It's not like I have a choice," I utter back in a quiet undertone. "I don't have any freedom anymore. I'm just a puppet to be used for my father's political reign."

I continue walking next to the bodyguard, who looks as if he wants to say something more, but he keeps his mouth shut with a slight frown. It's almost like he's afraid to tell me—or afraid of what my reaction might be.

One of many royal carriages awaits all of us outside the palace, and as we get seated in, we begin to set off on the royal tour. However, I'm already familiar with not only the city but my entire country. This whole trip around Rome is purely for the future king.

On the bright side, I'm relieved to have a break from the tension between me and Marco, who's sitting on the other side of the carriage. But I'm worried less about him as my mind keeps wandering back to Alex's words.